Mavs and Spurs renew rivalry in Dallas
Basketball Betting Lines
01/29/2012 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Longtime Lone Star State rivals meet with first place in
the Southwest Division on the line as the Mavericks welcome San Antonio
to Big D.
Dallas, the reigning NBA champs, and the Spurs, the defending division champs,
both currently sit as 12-8, deadlocked with yet another Texas team, Houston,
atop the highly competitive division.
The Mavs come in on the heels of a solid 116-101 home win over Utah on Friday.
Roddy Beaubois scored a season-high 22 points in that one to power Dallas,
which continued to play without superstar Dirk Nowitzki (sore right knee).
Lamar Odom added a season-best 19 points and Jason Terry scored 18 off the
bench for the Mavericks, who also toiled without veteran backup guard Delonte
West (strained right hamstring). Meanwhile, starting point guard Jason Kidd
left the game in the first quarter with a strained right calf and didn't
return.
Despite the injuries, the Mavericks shot 55 percent and went 11-of-19 from
three-point range on the way to their fourth win in five games. Brendan
Haywood contributed 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Shawn Marion notched 16
points for Dallas, which has won six in a row against the Jazz.
"They told me that Jason Kidd was going to be out, so I just wanted to play
the best basketball I could play and just wanted the team to win," Beaubois
said. "Everybody did a great job, we knew Jason Kidd wasn't going to play and
we know how important he is to us. Everybody stepped up and that was good."
Both Nowitzki, who was originally expected to return to the lineup tonight,
and Kidd have been listed as questionable for tonight's contest while West is
expected back.
San Antonio, meanwhile, continued to struggle away from the Alamo City on
Friday dropping the opener of a three-game road trip in Minneapolis, 87-79.
All-Star Kevin Love had 18 points and 16 rebounds as the Timberwolves scored
the final 10 points of the game to beat the Spurs for the second time this
month.
Tony Parker had 20 points to lead San Antonio, while Tim Duncan scored nine
with 10 rebounds.
"If we're on the road and we hold somebody to 87 points, I think we have a
good chance," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "I felt good about that. But
like many NBA games, the last four or five minutes, whoever scores wins."
The Spurs, who will also visit Memphis on their trek, are in the midst of
playing 16 of 21 games away from home and currently 3-4 during the stretch.
Overall, San Antonio is just 2-7 as the visitor on the season.
The Spurs, however, have won four straight in the regular season over the Mavs
including a 93-71 rout in San Antonio back on Jan. 5.
<< Nets and Raptors clash at The Rock
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlantic Division rivals meet in North Jersey Sunday when
the Nets welcome Toronto to The Rock.
New Jersey has been on an uptick recently, winning three of their past four
games. Deron Williams recorded a double-double wit
<< Reeling Magic welcome Pacers to Central Florida
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Eastern Conference playoff contenders meet in
Central Florida on Sunday when a struggling Orlando team plays host to the
Indiana Pacers in the Magic Kingdom.
Orlando has dropped three of four and is coming off a
<< Pierce, Celtics open home-and-home set with Cavs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Pierce and the banged-up Boston Celtics aim to climb
above the .500 mark when they welcome Cleveland to TD Garden for the front end
of a home-and-home set.
With starters Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen and Jermaine O'Neal out
<< NHL's best clash at All-Star Game in Ottawa
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 59th edition of the NHL All-Star Game is on tap for
today, as Team Alfredsson's hometown favorites take on Team Chara at Ottawa's
Scotiabank Place.
This marks the second straight year that the NHL has forgone the Easte
<< Bulls kick off monster road trip in Miami
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Eastern Conference heavyweights square off on the
shores of Biscayne Bay Sunday afternoon when LeBron James and the Miami Heat
play host to Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls in a rematch of last season's
conference
Hawks and Hornets tangle in the Big Easy >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Hornets hope to build on their first win in over two
weeks when they host the Atlanta Hawks in the Big Easy.
New Orleans tasted victory for the first time since Jan. 9 on Friday when Carl
Landry netted a team-high 17 p
Wolves aim to snap long skid vs. Lakers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Lakers will finish a two-day tour of the Midwest on
Sunday aiming for their 16th consecutive win over the much-improved Minnesota
Timberwolves.
The Wolves haven't beaten LA since March 6, 2007 but this is a much differ
Hoosiers host Hawkeyes in Big Ten battle >>
Bloomington, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ranked 16th in the nation to close out the
week, the Indiana Hoosiers try to get back to .500 in Big Ten Conference play
this evening as they entertain the Iowa Hawkeyes at Assembly Hall in
Bloomington.
Si
Tar Heels put lengthy home win streak on line vs. Yellow Jackets >>
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The seventh-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels
will try to make it 31 in a row at home tonight when they host the Georgia
Tech Yellow Jackets in an Atlantic Coast Conference battle at the Smith
Center.
This w
Wolverines visit Buckeyes in Big Ten showdown >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 20th-ranked Michigan Wolverines head to
the Value City Arena today to take on the fourth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes
with the first place position in the Big Ten Conference standings at stake.
This will be
The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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